Episcopal Diocese of Michigan answers call to 'feed the hungry'

From Michigan-

Michigan food banks will get a $200,000 infusion from the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan to help them provide food to those affected by the coronavirus.

The donation stemmed from the driving need and "high demand at local food pantries and soup kitchens," as well as the fact that Michigan is a place where many cases emerged, Episcopalian officials said Wednesday.

"With more than a million unemployed in our state, people from all areas of life: rural communities, suburbs and cities are finding it difficult to feed their families," said the Rt. Rev. Bonnie A. Perry, who was recently consecrated as the 11th bishop.

"Hunger is real and hunger is debilitating," said Perry. "As people of faith, we want to answer Jesus’ call to 'feed the hungry.' In the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan, we care about our communities and we act when we see a need. That’s how we live out our faith."

More here-

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2020/05/27/episcopal-diocese-donates-michigan-food-banks/5271439002/

St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church members feed the hungry in lay ministry

From South Carolina-

A thin man wearing hospital clothes sits at a small table inside St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church.

“I haven’t eaten in two days,” he said after answering questions from Jean Brown, an intake volunteer who fills out paperwork.

The man is one of about 20 people waiting in line at any given time on a Tuesday morning in the fall outside the Waters Avenue church across from Daffin Park.

The people can work, but most people receiving food have to make a tough choice: Pay bills or buy food, according to church food ministry director Judy Berube.

“We’re meeting that need they have so they can pay bills,” Berube said.

‘Content with anything’

Some people in line look polished, like they are dressed for church service. Others wear worn clothes, and around noon at least three people wait using walkers.

More here-

https://www.blufftontoday.com/news/20200106/st-michael-and-all-angels-episcopal-church-members-feed-hungry-in-lay-ministry

Fighting hunger is a community endeavor

From Western NC-

Every Tuesday, by 9 a.m., volunteers have gathered in the St. James Episcopal Church common room where they put up chairs and tables covered with cheery checked tablecloths. The big Bounty & Soul truck has dropped off boxes of produce and we begin to sort through it all, putting fruits and vegetables into baskets to be set out on the tables.

In the kitchen, the coffee pot is on and there is fresh bread, jam and slices of fruit. The talk is animated as produce is packaged into containers and passed out to be put on the tables. Blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, melons and cabbages all are boxed and wrapped.

Those that don't pass muster are put into five-gallon buckets and become compost, which along with others, are hauled away by another volunteer with a truck.

Out in the hall, bushel baskets filled with squash, potatoes, onions, zucchini, peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes are set on the tables. On another table, boxes of salad greens are stacked, bags of kale and collards are lined up. Next comes the fruit table with bananas, oranges, lemons, limes, berries, apples and often exotic fruit--kiwi, mangoes, pomegranates.

More here-

https://www.blackmountainnews.com/story/life/2018/10/24/fighting-hunger-community-endeavor/1672324002/

Feed My Sheep packs food for hungry children in Gardner and Athol

From Massachusetts-

Jean Kunzinger was on hand to greet people who were volunteering their Saturday to participate in Feed My Sheep, a multi-denominational gathering to combat hunger in the area. Kunzinger said 68 people signed up for Feed My Sheep on Saturday, and the crowd was singing as they packed food for those in need.

“It is great to see so many come together,” said Kunzinger as the room broke out in song with “Sweet Caroline.”
The event was the brainchild of a local activist who heard children were hungry.

Susan Hubbard, affectionately called “Old Mother Hubbard,” a member of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, said that she began bringing the project Feed My Sheep together after attending events where people gathered to pack food for the hungry in other areas. She brought the idea to her church to see if they were interested in making a difference.

“As a church, we decided that we wanted to do something more to help,” she said.

More here-

http://www.thegardnernews.com/news/20180917/feed-my-sheep-packs-food-for-hungry-children-in-gardner-and-athol

Church dedicates free, outdoor food pantry

From Alabama-

Trinity Episcopal Church became the first Clanton church to open a free, outdoor food pantry service developed by Shelby County nonprofit organization Three Hearts One Mission.

Stationed outside the church’s next-door Heflin House, the miniature pantry resembles a large birdhouse on a stand with a glass door offering a sneak-peek at its canned contents.

Co-founder Rachel Davidson of Three Hearts One Mission said the pantry is a safe source of canned goods for the needs of anonymous community members.

“We’re delighted this is going to be the first one, but we’re also looking forward to having more of them in different places and working with you in the years to come,” Janet Pandzik told Three Hearts One Mission founders during a dedication ceremony on June 22.

More here-

https://www.clantonadvertiser.com/2018/06/25/church-dedicates-free-outdoor-food-pantry/

Emmanuel Episcopal Church feeds hundreds each Christmas

From South Western Virginia-

Marlene Tate didn’t know she used to work for the man who started the Emmanuel Episcopal Church’s annual Christmas dinner until she and her husband Larry attended yesterday.

Her former employer, late parishioner and Bristol businessman Jack Trayer, started the dinner in 1981. That year, many families in the area were struggling due to a recession. Trayer didn’t want them to lack food or comfort on the holiday, so he and rector George Bunn funded a free meal open to all members of the community.

Thirty-seven years later, the tradition is going strong. Marlene and Larry attended the dinner for the first time Monday, they said, because this year has been a hard one.

“Everyone’s been so kind and generous,” Marlene Tate said.

More here-

http://www.heraldcourier.com/news/emmanuel-episcopal-church-feeds-hundreds-each-christmas/article_943239d8-e9fe-11e7-8886-b39e1804f1a9.html

Episcopal, ELCA presiding bishops issue joint statement calling for prayer, fasting for hunger awareness

From ENS (with video links)

 Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) have issued a joint statement calling for prayer, fasting and advocacy.

The statement, For Such a Time as This: A Call to Prayer, Fasting, and Advocacy, calls for fasting on the 21st of each month through December 2018, at which time the 115th Congress will conclude. 

The 21st of each month is targeted because by that time each month, 90% of SNAP (formerly food stamp) benefits have been used, thereby causing the last week of the month as the hungry week in America.

More here-

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2017/05/18/episcopal-elca-presiding-bishops-issue-joint-statement-calling-for-prayer-fasting-for-hunger-awareness/

Partners in Agriculture plans new facility, continues fight against hunger in Haiti

From Upper South Carolina-

For 18 years, Greenville’s Gillaine and Charles Warne have grown food and taught sustainable agriculture in Haiti to eliminate malnutrition. Now they’re feeding thousands with three farms, a family security program, and a vocational school.

In 1999, Gillaine Warne made her first trip to Haiti’s Central Plateau through Christ Episcopal Church after Father Fritz Lafontant, a Haitian Episcopal priest, asked her to teach English in the small rural village of Cange.

During her visit, Warne witnessed the extent of malnutrition. “I felt as if each of my senses had been assaulted,” Warne says. “Children were dying, and mothers were walking barefoot across mountains for days to find help. It was even more astonishing to see that nobody was growing anything.”

More here-

https://greenvillejournal.com/2017/04/26/partners-agriculture-plans-new-facility-continues-fight-hunger-haiti/

A modest bequest blossomed into an enduring tradition

From Eastern North Carolina-

When Kill Devil Hills resident Ruthie Rigor died nine years ago, she left a few thousand dollars in her will to St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church.

The small lump of money didn’t last long, but it didn’t have to. From it an idea was born among parishioners that has blossomed into a community-wide effort to feed the hungry and foster fellowship every week of the year.

And it’s stood the test of time, thanks to the kindness and compassion of a community that cares.

Ruthie’s Community Kitchen served its first meal in October of 2009 at His Dream Center in Nags Head. More than seven years later, county residents still gather around the table every Tuesday night for a warm meal and connection.

More here-

https://outerbanksvoice.com/2017/01/29/a-small-donation-planted-the-seed-for-ruthies-kitchen/

Faith-based community plays critical role in helping feed our valley

From Ohio-

Only 13 of the 148 food pantries it is affiliated with the Second Harvest Food Bank in Mahoning, Trumbull, and Columbiana counties are not located at a church.

At Christ Episcopal Church in Warren, about 40 members of the church give their time to pack bags of food so kids at Warren's three inner city elementary schools won't go hungry.

In the past 8 years the Episcopal Diocese has given $10,000 in grants to pay for that food. Volunteers raised more in donations through fundraiser "Taste of the Valley" to help fund this effort.

Volunteers at the church rotate one week out of every five weeks. They drive to the church to pack the food for the elementary school students no matter how bad the weather gets.

"We've been here when it's been blizzard conditions outside,"said volunteer Anne Martin. "You just can't let the kids go hungry."

"We receive our order of food from Second Harvest Food Bank and we pack it in bags on Thursdays," explains Lindsay Day. "The schools pick up the bags of food on Fridays, and the kids take it home at the end of the day for the weekend."

More here-

http://www.wfmj.com/story/33770098/faith-based-community-plays-critical-role-in-helping-feed-our-valley

Kansas City soup kitchen is just like a restaurant

From Kansas City (with video)-

There's a new downtown Kansas City dining experience that's getting a lot of attention.  A culinary team makes the menu and a waiter takes your order.  But it's not a restaurant.

It's the Kansas City Community Kitchen at 8th Street and Paseo, and it's providing free meals to anyone in need.  But it's nothing like a typical soup kitchen.

"We have a baked chicken an oven baked chicken," said one worker at the Kansas City Community Kitchen.  "We have a french fry but instead of being fried, its actually being baked.  We have green beans that have been flavored with a turkey bacon."

All of those items were on the menu at the Kansas City Community Kitchen on Wednesday.  It looks and smells like a restaurant, and there's a friendly staff to take your order.  But the meal is free for everyone.

"We don't want it to be a soup kitchen, for us it's about being a community kitchen so it's about breaking walls and letting people see anyone can be in need," said Beau Heyen at Episcopal Community Services.

More here-

http://www.kmbc.com/news/kansas-city-soup-kitchen-is-just-like-a-restaurant/38427134

'My Brother's Table' feeds dozens of people every Sunday

From Idaho-

Dozens of people every Sunday gather at the Trinity Episcopal Church in Pocatello for a free lunch and this Sunday was no exception.

KPVI News that Works for You was there and talked to volunteers to find out what it takes to feed so many people as well as the people that tell KPVI what the free lunch means to them.

“It helps us out a lot, especially when you don’t have food or nothing to eat.  We come here and eat and so it helps out a lot,” says Ann Eberhard, Attended ‘My Brother’s Table’ lunch.

More here-

http://www.kpvi.com/news/my-brother-s-table-feeds-dozens-of-people-every-sunday/article_6d394c80-d912-11e5-af7f-8304e754b3ab.html

Iredell church members pack 10,000 meals for people in need

From North Carolina-

The congregation of St. Patrick Episcopal Church took a different, more active role in Sunday's sermon.

Beyond listening to the Rev. Mark Forbes’ message, church members rolled up their sleeves to pack 10,000 meals for Stop Hunger Now
.
“This will be the sermon,” said organizer Mark Hatley.

The church dubbed the event “Be the Sermon” Sunday.

During the brief worship service, Forbes quoted St. Francis: Only on rare occasions were Christians to speak about God’s love by talking about it.

“I think that is pretty cool,” he said.

More here-

http://www.statesville.com/news/iredell-church-members-pack-meals-for-people-in-need/article_ceab15ce-921e-11e5-a08a-37d3aa13b726.html

How should church and state balance looking after the poor?

From The New Statesman-

The Labour party, it’s often said, owes more to Methodism than Marxism.

That historical one-liner has, under the Coalition and now under our new, Conservative-only government, become an increasing truth of the welfare system under David Cameron.

Marxism – or at least, state-backed social democracy – is out. Methodism – in the shape of food banks and other voluntary organisations, largely run by the Trussell Trust and other organisations which might not have a proselytizing mission, but they are overwhelmingly run by both staff and volunteers who are driven by a faith-based mission – is in.

More here-

http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/welfare/2015/10/how-should-church-and-state-balance-looking-after-poor

At a Manhattan Soup Kitchen, Food on the Table and Chops on the Piano

From The New York Times- (with video)

The line of men — they are almost all men — backs up around the corner on West 28th Street in Manhattan, turns and follows the iron fence line along Ninth Avenue and through the gates of the Church of the Holy Apostles. A worker at the door hands each a ticket, and from that point on, they are referred to as guests.

They file through a narrow hall and enter the Episcopal church’s sanctuary, an arching vault shot through with color from the stained-glass windows. The men accept trays, and empty plates quickly fill with roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, half-cobs of sweet corn, milk and chocolate pudding.

More here-

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/30/nyregion/at-a-manhattan-soup-kitchen-piano-music-is-always-on-the-menu.html?_r=0

Chicago Church Doesn't Just Feed The Hungry -- They Do It With Maitre D' Service

From Huffington-

On Dec. 7, the kitchen of All Saints Episcopal Church was packed with volunteers, and the aroma in the air was undeniably mouth-watering. The Chicago parish was hosting one of its two yearly Sunday dinners for needy community members, dishing up food, service and entertainment one might expect to find in a restaurant, rather than a church hall.

The night's menu boasted a wide range of dishes: roasted turkey breast, prime rib, salmon, roasted acorn squash, a broccoli-spinach souffle and sage stuffing, plus pecan and pumpkin pies. As guests filed in to sit at tables adorned with flowers, smartly dressed waiters flitted about the room. Rev. Bonnie Perry and other volunteers greeted the hungry guests as friends, while a group of singers from a local prep school readied their dinnertime performance.hunger

More here-

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/10/all-saints-cafe-chicago-bonnie-perry_n_6297160.html?utm_hp_ref=religion

Anglican Leader Says Plight of Hungry in Britain More Shocking Than in Africa

From Newsweek-

The Archbishop of Canterbury has said he found seeing the hungry in Britain to be less serious but more shocking than the plight of those starving in some places in Africa.

Justin Welby, head of the 80-million strong Anglican communion, compared his two recent experiences of seeing hungry people in the Democratic Republic of Congo, to talking to a family making a collection of free food in England.

"I found their plight more shocking. It was less serious, but it was here. And they weren't careless with what they had – they were just up against it," Welby wrote in the Mail on Sunday.

More here-

http://www.newsweek.com/anglican-leader-says-plight-hungry-britain-more-shocking-africa-289977

From Huffington-

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/12/08/food-bank_n_6286334.html?utm_hp_ref=uk

Florida judge issues stay on homeless feeding ban

From Ft. Lauderdale-

A judge Tuesday issued a 30-day stay on Fort Lauderdale’s enforcement of new restrictions on feeding homeless people and ordered all sides into mediation to resolve an issue that has brought the city a storm of unpleasant international attention.

The decision came in the case of Arnold Abbott, the 90-year-old World War II veteran and retired jewelry salesman who has been feeding homeless people at the beach for years.

More here-

http://www.pressherald.com/2014/12/03/fla-judge-issues-stay-on-homeless-feeding-ban/

Homeless advocates rally for change in Fort Lauderdale

From Southeast Florida-

Hungry for change, about 100 protested Saturday in front of the downtown federal courthouse against city leaders and their ordinance to restrict outdoor feedings for the homeless.


The most coveted speaker: Arnold Abbott, 90, who has grown into an iconic figure in the movement to "decriminalize homelessness."

Abbott appeared before a rowdy crowd that chanted his name and cheered for the leader of the Love Thy Neighbor nonprofit that holds weekly feedings. He was welcomed like a local celebrity of sorts.

More here-

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/fort-lauderdale/fl-homeless-rally-fort-lauderdale-20141129-story.html

Parish of 32 feeds thousands each month

From New Jersey-

It was still another 20 minutes before lunch was served, but the dining room was already filling in the small building that sits adjacent to St. Mark's Episcopal Church.

About 25 people sat around long tables in the Center for Community Renewal, the church's feeding ministry. Some drank coffee and chatted with friends while others sat silently.

All in all, the crowd at lunch last week numbered nearly as many as the church's members who fill the pews each Sunday.

Tiny in size and just as meager in riches, this parish of 32 people somehow manages to feed breakfast and lunch each day, in all plating up more than 6,000 meals each month. It's a feat that sometimes even its director Tammy Young has a hard time explaining.

More here-

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/11/26/parish-of-32-feeds-thousands-each-month/19559611/